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Venturer Twelve #2
Seed Of Stars
The thinly-spread starships of the Space Corps were all the protection Earth's galactic colonies had. Yet the colonies fought, lied and cheated, to win independence of even this slender thread of control.
Kepler III was one such colony. It was approaching its centenary. On the way was Venturer Twelve, Commander Tom Bruce, sent out to investigate and establish whether or not the colony was progressing sufficiently well to be freed and declared independent of the commercial company which had founded and financed it. And on Kepler, President Shanon Kido was dtermined the investigation would turn up nothing - absolutely nothing - to endanger that independence.
Even if it meant endangering the planet...
Kepler III was one such colony. It was approaching its centenary. On the way was Venturer Twelve, Commander Tom Bruce, sent out to investigate and establish whether or not the colony was progressing sufficiently well to be freed and declared independent of the commercial company which had founded and financed it. And on Kepler, President Shanon Kido was dtermined the investigation would turn up nothing - absolutely nothing - to endanger that independence.
Even if it meant endangering the planet...
210 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1972
About the author
Dan Morgan
103 books4 followersDan Morgan (1925–2011) was an English science fiction writer and a professional guitarist, mainly active as a writer from the early 1950s through the mid-1970s. In addition to his fiction, he wrote two manuals relating to his musical profession.
Morgan is best known for his Sixth Perception novels, featuring a group of characters possessed of psychic powers; the three Venturer Twelve space operas, co-authored with his colleague John Kippax (a fourth was written by Kippax alone); and the somewhat tongue-in-cheek novel The Richest Corpse in Show Business.
Morgan is best known for his Sixth Perception novels, featuring a group of characters possessed of psychic powers; the three Venturer Twelve space operas, co-authored with his colleague John Kippax (a fourth was written by Kippax alone); and the somewhat tongue-in-cheek novel The Richest Corpse in Show Business.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 6, 2014
This is the second installment in a short lived science fiction from the 1970s. The sound bite description might be, "Star Trek + ruthlessness". The first book introduced us to Tom Bruce, a Space Corps Commander who who believed in the Corps ideals and mission likely above his own humanity and most likely anyone else. Even to the point of ending his relationship with Helen Lindstrom and then demanding her as first officer when he gets command of the Corps' newest ship Venturer Twelve.
Now instead of trying to chase down the mysterious aliens that forced Bruce to execute an entire colony's population after being experimented upon by said aliens, Bruce finds himself on a diplomatic mission to the colony world of Kepler. Kepler is petitioning for independence. If successful Kepler will no longer be owned by the corporation that founded it, and it will be permitted to conduct commerce etc. on its own terms.
The real main story is the love affair between crewperson Mia and medical doctor Piet. In the Corps its all right to fuck your crewmate, so long as you don't cross from officer's country into enlisted territory, which Mia and Piet have done. Not to mention Piet disabled Mia's contraceptive implant in order for her to have a child. They plan to abandon ship at Kepler.
The reason to stop there is to avoid spoiling some plot threads that while they seem obvious if you elect to read this book I want you to discover on your own. Again Bruce and company face and make decisions that will make them seem heartless.
As an aside I can't decide if some of the portrayals of the sexes and the Japanese who founded Kepler have to do with Kippax and Morgan's background (Kippax is fromer military) or if they are the product of their times. Arguably there are sexist and racist portrayals in Seed of Stars.
Now instead of trying to chase down the mysterious aliens that forced Bruce to execute an entire colony's population after being experimented upon by said aliens, Bruce finds himself on a diplomatic mission to the colony world of Kepler. Kepler is petitioning for independence. If successful Kepler will no longer be owned by the corporation that founded it, and it will be permitted to conduct commerce etc. on its own terms.
The real main story is the love affair between crewperson Mia and medical doctor Piet. In the Corps its all right to fuck your crewmate, so long as you don't cross from officer's country into enlisted territory, which Mia and Piet have done. Not to mention Piet disabled Mia's contraceptive implant in order for her to have a child. They plan to abandon ship at Kepler.
The reason to stop there is to avoid spoiling some plot threads that while they seem obvious if you elect to read this book I want you to discover on your own. Again Bruce and company face and make decisions that will make them seem heartless.
As an aside I can't decide if some of the portrayals of the sexes and the Japanese who founded Kepler have to do with Kippax and Morgan's background (Kippax is fromer military) or if they are the product of their times. Arguably there are sexist and racist portrayals in Seed of Stars.
Displaying 1 of 1 review